Land of Mists and Dance

I've been away from the Forum for a while doing this and that, writing a few pieces, some bad, some worse! But thought it time I posted something (which of the previous descriptions of my recent music relates to this piece, I leave to your judgement!). A bit New Age, a bit Celtic, a bit I know not what!
 
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12546730
 
Through the Dark Forest to the Hall of the Elven King where a Ceilidh is in progress (there is a slow part half way through, featuring "Celtic Harp" (or that's what it said on the box)!
 
(On my sound system I do hear some crackles every so often. There is no sign of clipping on the .wav but I would be interested to hear if you can hear any crackles - or perhaps my sound system is giving up on me - can't blame it!).

Hi James - Sincere thanks. I was just listening to your opening piece on your Headscape website called Mara - I love the creativity and the wonderful journey that the music takes you on - Outstanding.

Very lovely piece Malcolm, and a fine job on the instrumentation, arrangement and the mix is spot on. Not a crackle anywhere on this end. Everything sound great and holds your interest well. Nice one.
 
Peace and Blessings, John

Hi John - Sincere thanks - so very pleased you like this piece. I started writing it as a Folk Rock piece with five electric guitars and two drum sets! I think I made the right decision to go for a harp instead!
 
Hi Wookiee - Sincere thanks - Odd about those crackles - I think my computer has caught a nasty case of the Winter Flu! Fine one minute and now nothing seems to work properly and it takes ten minutes to even shut down - looks like it needs a Doctor!

No malcomb, it sounds clean and good here.  A lot of times a busy computer/soundcard and low latency will introduce clicks on your system but won't on bounce.
 
Very nice piece - I thought the strings might be a bit too forward in the busy section, but overall excellent arrangement and production.
 
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Hi Tim - Sincere thanks. It always amazes me how many notes it takes to write a short piece of music. A quick mental calculation (Ouch, that hurt!) suggests that this piece has more than three thousand notes - the person who invented "Copy and Paste" deserves a Nobel Prize for services to composers! (Miriam is fine and does allow me to write a few instrumental pieces every year - but only a few! - fortunately she has not found out that I have found a real singer for this year's CD - Shhhhh, don't tell her, please!)
 
Hi AT - Sincere thanks. Odd about those crackles / clicks and I am sure you are right. Everything was fine until I uploaded the latest version of Norton - (stupid me!) - I am sure that is the problem. I suspect that Norton and I will soon be parting company!
 

Sounds great here! Very nice way to start my day.

Beautiful music Malcolm.  I see you're one for druid/celtic/mystical/ambient music.  I love it!  Very fluid and airy.
 
By the way, how do you like Avanna?  I've been thinking it might be interesting to add an exotic female voice to some of my ambient electronica music.  She's on sale for $69 for the next few days.  In my preliminary review I've been thinking that the vocaloids aren't quite there yet, so maybe I should wait for v4 or v5?  But maybe your experience with Avanna has been different?

Hi Herb - Sincere thanks - listening to music sure beats working!
 
Hi Walt - Sincere thanks and you are absolutely right about genre - I just wish my Druid friends were as appreciative as everyone here! As for Avanna, I would suggest caution. Like all the Vocaloids, her voice has much to commend it if you do not have access to a real singer. It does take a lot of work to create something vaguely life-like from the raw output of the Vocaloid Editor and clarity of words is a constant headache. Avanna was marketed as for the pop/dance genre but frankly, I find her voice a bit weak in some parts of the vocal range. I use "Miriam" a lot and she was one of the very first English singing Vocaloids (or "Engloids" (yes, that is really what they are called!)) - in my view still the best. The only problem is that the majority of the development of the Vocaloids is focused on the Japanese market and it may be some time before a quality Engloid appears. Suggest you check Youtube where there are quite a few Avanna videos and check you are really happy with her voice before you buy her. The potential is there and if you do buy, please feel free to PM me and I will help all I can.

Beautiful work, Malcolm.  It's crystal clear on my end.  This piece took me on a short journey which is what I look for in a song.  You're on a roll.

Hi Malcolm,
 
Very pretty piece. The guitar sounds great in some sections, then get very "midified" in another. Not sure why, but it lost that dynamic feel for a bit. Everything else sounds great! If I remember right, I've heard some of your other stuff and really liked it. I'd suggest revisiting this tune and add some expressiveness to the strings and guitar.
 
Regards,
Dan
 
 
 

Hi Dan - Sincere thanks. I do know what you mean about loosing the dynamics. I am not sure why but for some reason my string VSTs (VSL and Garritan) always seem to overpower other instruments. I try to get round this by panning widely on the sound stage and EQ and this certainly helps. Reducing string volume and velocity also helps but then of course you loose the richness of the sound. Still not sure of the solution but I will keep trying!
 
Hi Mark - Sincere thanks, you are far too kind. I just write what I hear in my head - good thing I only hear music there and not strange voices!

Hi Starise - Sincere thanks. I don't think I can lay claim to any "technique" - sounds far too professional for a self taught tune writer of barely eight years trial and error experience who cannot play any instrument (the book I bought to teach myself music notation was described as suitable for children - just about my level I thought)! So very pleased and grateful that you and everyone else have listened to and enjoyed this piece.

Hi Rik - Sincere thanks Sir (and true Maestro!) and also for your comment at Soundcloud. Very much appreciated.
 
(Oh, I eventually solved those crackles - Windows decided to change my Hard Drive read/write mode from fast to very slow - thank you Windows!).